Promise
by Seiji and Shizuku 4ever
Summary: It would only make sense for him to give her back newer, prettier earrings to make up for the ones he'd lost up north. After all, that was equivalent exchange, wasn't it? /EdWin/


**A/N: YAHOO! XD My first EdWin x33 Ever since I first started watching FMA, I was in love with Ed and Winry as a couple. CANON FTW! X3 I never wanted to write any stories for them, though, cuz I thought I wouldn't do them (the show, the couple) justice. u.u And the idea for this fanfic is very cliche and not original at all... but a plot bunny came to mind and just refused to leave me alone until I wrote it out. xDD I dun think it's very good, but I hope at least the characterization's alright. ^^' This takes place in episode 46 of Brotherhood, after Ed argues with Winry in her room about leaving Resembool and **_**right **_**after his little talk with Greed. xD**

**Disclaimer: Insert persuasive words of denial here.**

**Hope you like it!**

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><p><em>"I don't want to hear any doubts from you!" Her cerulean orbs softened, imploring. "Please, Ed! You can't let them go through with this. Just tell me you're gonna stop them and save the country." His eyes widened. "I wanna hear you say that you're going to protect the country and then get your bodies back! Do whatever it takes to make that happen!"<em>

_After a moment of shocked silence, he hardened and returned her fierce gaze. "Winry.. you make it sound like it's easy."_

_"This isn't the time to start doubting yourself, Ed! LISTEN to me!" she pleaded._

_He growled. "Winry, you just don't know when to shut up, do ya?"_

_His harsh words stopped her cold, a frown creasing her brow and eyes. "Edward.." she implored softly as the door shut, his way of saying the conversation was over and not up for debate._

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><p>"Greed may not be good.. but it's not so bad, either. You humans think greed is just for money and power, but everyone wants something they don't have."<p>

Ed stopped for a moment, absorbing the words in sullen silence, then continued past Greed down the staircase. Arguing with someone twice in less than five minutes was his limit. The homunculus smirked, leaning against the wall, arms crossed as he watched Fullmetal's back. _Let him chew on that for a while. _When the state alchemist was almost down the stairs, Greed called to him, adding, "Oh, hey, kid."

Ed stopped but didn't turn, muscles coiled taut as he braced himself for the next taunt.

"You had something for the girl, right? If you gave it to her, sounds like it didn't go over too well." There was a smirk in his voice.

Ed silently cursed under his breath. _That's right. _In the midst of all the quite-literal chaos, it had slipped his mind. Ed slid his fingers into his pocket and felt the outline of the small box there. _First you worry Winry and blow up at her over something stupid, when she tries to prove she has faith in you, then you forget to give her this after she fixes your automail. Nice going, Ed, _he inwardly chided himself.

He remembered when he and Winry had parted ways up north, how uneasy and angrily reluctant he'd been to leave her with Scar, her parents' killer. How she'd run back to him down the steps, removing each of her earrings as she did (all of which he'd given her in times past to repay her for work she'd done on his automail), placing them in his palm and closing his fingers over the delicate beads. _"Ed! You hang onto these for me." _He'd never forgotten the look in her sky blue eyes that moment, tinged in confidence and trust in him, reassurance that she'd be alright and could hold her own, determination that she'd be strong, as she called over her shoulder while running, "I'll see you back at the fort!" He'd clenched the earrings in his palm, vowing to keep hold of each and every one of them as he watched her leave.

And honest to God, he'd tried. He really had. But it'd been difficult at best, to keep track of them and constantly have to transfer them from pocket to pocket.

Before Ed had joined ranks with Greeling, when he'd almost died as that beam punctured his abdomen and the chimeras, Darius and Heinkel, had taken him to a doctor was probably when he'd lost track of the earrings.. only shortly after Winry had deposited them in his care.

Ed had bought her new ones, six of them, two beads, four hoops, to make up for the ones he'd lost. Equivalent exchange.

Now how to go about giving them to her.. _that _was the real problem.

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><p>"You're leaving in the middle of the night?"<p>

Winry was outside on the porch with Pinako and her escorts, apron still strapped around her thin waist, to say goodbye to Ed. Dark had already fallen, and her visit with her childhood friend hadn't seemed near long enough considering the time they'd been apart from each other, but Winry didn't ask them to stay for the night as she desired. Ed knew when he needed to leave, and she had to respect that.

"We were actually planning on leaving earlier today, then we ran into you," Ed explained, then his face softened into a smile. "It was good to see you. ..And thanks for the tune-up, Winry." He turned around to leave.

She couldn't help but be plagued with the familiar fear she experienced after every visit from him, though, especially with his warning earlier; that she wouldn't see him again. Ed didn't tell her much, but he had lots of enemies - Winry knew that much. What if he was taken in battle or turned against by Greed and those chimeras..or even just caught off-guard? Practically the same thing had happened to Maes Hughes, hadn't it? Winry's heart clenched, and she hurried to the top step.

"Wait, Ed..I need to.."

"Lay low until the promise day passes." He turned and looked at her, eyes serious. "We're gonna stop them, Winry," he promised before turning around to leave again.

Lots of death happened in the world; she knew that firsthand. And Winry knew she should prepare herself for the day it might happen to her best friends. She swallowed and tucked the thought away, too painful to ponder on at the moment.

Winry was pulled out of her thoughts when Ed suddenly stopped, muttering something like, "Oh, yeah. That's right.." and turned around, golden eyes landing on her. Recognizing the look that meant he had something to say, Winry flounced down the steps, long flaxen tresses streaming around her shoulders. "Edward?" She tried to make out his features in the dark.

Ed tried and failed to put his thoughts into words, so after a moment of incoherent stuttering, he simply dug around in his pocket and shoved a small black box at her, cheeks tinged pink.

Winry blinked and after a moment of confusion accepted it. Memories and a feeling of deja vu set in as she pulled back the lid to reveal a new set of earrings. "Oh, Ed!" she gasped, not really knowing what to say. She gingerly touched them, a smile playing on her lips. _Beautiful.. _"Thank you.."

"Equivalent exchange," Ed spoke, voice lowering so that nobody but Winry could hear him. Amber eyes met azure ones with a deep sense of familiarity. "I lost the earrings you gave me to watch over, so I got you new ones. ..Again, thanks for your tune-up today.." He rubbed his gold head sheepishly, averting his gaze now.

The corners of Winry's mouth quirked up as she watched him, eyes sparkling. _Alchemists.. covering up a kind act with the excuse of alchemy laws. Typical. _She was familiar with the biggest law of alchemy, the basis for all the other ones. _"You can't gain anything without first giving something of equal value in return." _Flawed logic, the way Winry saw it, especially since he'd given her _all _the earrings back in just one automail visit.

Ed loved seeing how even the smallest of smiles warmed her eyes and lit up her entire face. He inched closer, watching the porch lights spilling over her delicate form, and used the light pouring from the windows as a guide to take an earring from the box with his left hand to try to ease it into her ear. Needless to say, it had played out better in his mind. Ed fumbled with the small thing in his big, callused fingers and couldn't locate the hole in her ear in the dark, so he just ended up stabbing her earlobe.

At Winry's quiet wince and "ouch", Ed backed up, passing the earring back to her. He felt his face flush as their fingers brushed. "Heh. guess I'd better leave that to you.."

"Yeah..you missed. Just by a little bit." Ed detected goodnatured amusement in her voice. They held eye contact for a long moment, sharing a special smile, while unspoken words drifted between them, after all this time knowing each other so well they could have silent, special moments of conversation like these.

_Come back to me, Edward. Alive would be great._

_Yeah, yeah. Take care. Watch over Granny. She's not getting any younger, you know._

_Don't worry about her. She's as fit as they come. Be careful out there._

_We will. Don't worry your pretty little head over us. We'll be back in our original bodies before you know it, Al and I._

Before Winry could inwardly retort, Ed broke their inner dialogue to speak. "Have an apple pie waiting for us, ok?"

Winry smiled and nodded, determining it to be the best one she would ever make. The Elrics deserved it. "Right." Again she was struck by the realization that _she _had to look up at _him _now. It was a foreign concept she would have to get used to. Anew she admired how he had filled out; she'd had to make some pretty big modifications to his automail to better suit his taller, leaner form. Holding the box in her palms as she smiled at Ed, Winry mused, _Maybe he's finally matured.. from the inside out.._

"Hey, pipsqueak. Cut the chitchat with your girlfriend and let's get going. We don't have all night, you know." Greed's impatient voice broke the moment, reminding the duo that they weren't alone. For a moment there it had just been Ed and Winry, Winry and Ed, in their own world, caught up in the moment.

Ed's face flamed - whether due to embarrassment or anger, Winry couldn't tell. Probably both. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING PIPSQUEAK? AND SHE'S _NOT _MY GIRLFRIEND!"

_..One could hope, anyway. _Winry softly laughed with the others, waving long after the group had disappeared from sight, shrouded in the darkness of the night.

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><p>As Winry stood in front of her mirror, placing the earrings in, she admired how they looked (in her opinion, they were even better than the old ones) and thought over the day's events.<p>

_'We'll be back in our original bodies before you know it.'_

Winry smiled, knowing her best friends from childhood would do anything and everything in their power to fulfill that promise. Her gaze landed on a framed picture of her and the boys as kids, and she turned from the mirror to lightly touch it, taking note of her bright smile and happy eyes, Al's nonstop cheerful demeanor, and Ed's scowling facade as he was forced to take another picture with them. Her heart filled, remembering the happier times as nostalgia gripped her.

_I'll hold you to that, alchemy freak._

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><p><strong>AN: Sooo? What'd ya think? 8D Well, **_**I **_**think it turned out pretty lame and mediocre, but then again, I always think that about all my stories. xD; Hopefully it at least seemed like a moment that could've been in the episode. All I'm aiming for. 83 I hope I did this awesome anime justice, and I would appreciate any form of feedback. Thankies, please review! :3**


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